Monster Fall
by nicrt
Summary: What do you do when you're just kids being thrown into a world to big for you? What can you do when there are monsters out to get you? What do you think you should do, when they end up making a monster out of you?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Voltron franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Voltron franchise (e.g. Voltron Lions, Allura).

* * *

It takes awhile. A long while, about a few months in Altean time. Allura wished she hadn't spent that long searching for each one of the missing Paladins; there wasn't much choice in that matter though, being a fugitive of the Galra Empire. And the universe was a large and expansive place. Being flung to different corners of space, and trying to find five different souls and their robot lions is a lot harder than finding a mouse in a flower field. But she did it, she managed to find every one of them. For the most part, whole and in one piece.

For the other part, whatever experiences they had met with during their months apart, were not kind to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Voltron franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Voltron franchise (e.g. Voltron Lions, Allura).

* * *

Keith was the first to be found. Surprisingly as a part of a group of rebels in their battleship, a collective of different species working together. Their captain Durkan, a Galran long said to be a legendary veteran of many naval battles, saluted at the two Alteans as a greeting when introduced. The shock Allura and Coran felt at the discovery of Galrans working along with them was nothing compared to the worry they felt for Keith. He seemed to have 'matured so much' since they last saw him, as Allura put it..

"Burdened more like it." Coran muttered under his breath.

The dark bags under his eyes and the thinness of his frame betrayed the strain he tried to hide. A testament to how much stress he really was under. It seems his battle with Zarkon had not been forgotten. (And Allura sees the flinches and twitches when one of the Galrans walk past, or when they raised a hand in greeting. Despite their convictions, no one could really be comfortable around their kind.) Ever since Keith's chanced rescue by the crew, he's been pushing himself harder in training and piloting, more often than not the reason for the rag tag group's narrow escapes. For all the good spirits and hope they have for their fight for freedom though, their trials wore them down.

In the end, a single lion would never been enough.

Like a fly caught in a spider's web, the rebels were caught in an ambush by the Galran forces, the enemy's firepower far superior than their own. Even with their two ships and the Red Lion, they were severely outmatched and outgunned. The last order was given: give the Alteans and Red Paladin a chance to escape.

"It has been an honor, to fight alongside a Paladin." Had been the indigo-skinned man's last words.

One last charge; one last stand. Allura was intimately familiar with this sense of loss, as the Altean princess saluted the crew. Corran, the kindhearted man, sang their war songs, the ones used for the warriors never returning from the battlefield.

Keith did nothing but scream; he was a boy losing his friends to war. New to emotions like survivor's guilt, the agony of losing more than just his pride.

She heard him swear he won't ever lose his Voltron team this way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Voltron franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Voltron franchise (e.g. Voltron Lions, Allura).

 **A/N:** With the announcement of Voltron S2 coming out, I'm going to have to go on a crazy writing spree. I hope to be able to finish _Monster Fall_ , _The Necessary Evil_ and a planned _Ariella_ fic before they star rolling the season out.

Reviewers! Thank you so much for taking the time to spazz about this idea ^^ Well now that there's a sneak peek of what will happen to our Paladins, this is defo an au that I hope you'd still love to read and enjoy~

 **Hana13** Here's your update!

 **Guest** Define your definition of all the boys lol~ Just so you know, I write Pidge mostly as 'she', until otherwise canon-ly said.

 **not paranoid enough** Psst~ There's a chapter coming up that will coincide with The Necessary Evil :D

 **frostystuffs** Thank you! Angst is apparently my go-to department. And with all the fluffiness in the actual show, there's bound to be the most heartbreaking moments yet to come. re: season 2 trailer omg that one just screamed no.

 **Yemi Hikari** You've been a great reviewer ever since TNE came out. Thank you! :D

* * *

Pidge had been in hiding, protected thankfully by the planet Balto and their stand against the Galran Empire. The technologically-advanced planet were kind in repairing their ships, as well as sparing new upgrades for their defences and such. With the ten thousand-year old castle and lions being tended to, the three find out that Pidge had befriended the "royalty" (or the equivalent in a republic) of all people while she was sheltered there.

Chip looked exactly like her. Spectacles, strawberry blonde hair, shortness and all. 'A disturbing sort of resemblance', as Coran pointed out, but also 'very interesting', as Allura tried to salvage the situation. Keith was more weirded out at the fact that they even finished each other's speeches and were constantly on the same wavelength of thought.

The weirdest part of all was that Chip actually _did_ have twin brother named Pidge.

"We didn't always get along." Chip recalled. "But Pidge –the twin one- and I would be the first ones out on our fighters whenever the Galra got too close to our defences." He snorted. "We were squabbling about who got to save the fleet that day; in the end he won out of course."

(When they were alone, Pidge told the others that Chip's brother had ordered a full retreat whilst he prepared some engine bomb in the Galran mothership. One of them had to stay behind to trigger the bomb.)

"He's also helping me find my dad and brother!" Pidge explained excitedly. "Maybe when we get the whole team back together, we can finally rescue them!"

(When they were alone, Chip told them he knew about Pidge's family situation; he's been tracing their possible locations ever since she's told him. He also said he was doing every thing he could to make sure Pidge never loses her brother to the Galrans ever.)

They were, for the first time in awhile, at ease over their current situation. Not by much, but they were grateful that they can finally be ready for any longer expeditions and any battles against the Galran.

They were not prepared for the full-scale invasion.

All around the planet's orbit, fire and lazers rained down on the republic. Many citizens burned under the might of the Empire, as they tried to escape to safety. Downwards into the core they went, trapped by the sentries that chased after them. The officials of the republic were in a mess, trying to delegate their forces and people. The military did their best to fend off the attackers, but as the battle went on, their numbers waned.

The Voltron Force were in the hangars when they heard the message.

"We know the Green Lion and Paladin are here. Surrender them now, or be destroyed."

Chip had a contingency plan. Every Baltos, from child to elder, learnt to always have one for almost any situation. He would surrender in Pidge's stead. "No Lion to give though," he grinned at the group. "Can't have that happening. Nope, just a replica."

The officials were updated on this plan, and they've readily agreed. "For our people and our people's future." They looked to the team. "You are our future."

They'll kill him, they argue.

"There's no way I'll let my people suffer because of one surrender. And besides, like I'd go down without a fight." He's put on Pidge's Paladin suit, one of the extras in the castle. "Oh and Pidge? Katie?" He dropped a spherical object in her hand. "I hope you find your family. Tell them I said hi."

In the chaos of the attack, a distraction for the Castle to launch away, a broken-hearted Pidge and her Lion were kept safe within their hangar. They watched the live stream, how the sentries took Chip down after a drawn out fight, and towed the fake away. They heard how the Galran forces have stopped firing. They lost connection when they jumped through a wormhole.

Keith found Pidge in her lion, fidgeting with the Baltos tech Chip had given her. They look at it and play with it for awhile, through a night cycle, and into the next day; all the while trying to distract themselves from having witnessed an entire civilisation wrecked because of them. Allura comes by with food in hand (and they can see the fear in her eyes) (was that how my entire race died?) (was that what Coran had seen?), and she offered to tinker with it too.

A solar system appeared from the small ball, a holographic map. Two bright lights blinked on one particular planet. Coran keyed in the coordinates, setting off to find the one lead they had to find Pidge's family. They had to go somewhere, anywhere, with a goal and destination before they were in full force again.

Anything to distract them from the guilt.

(Pidge finds the recording of Chip hidden together in the sphere. It was him saying goodbye, how it was nice to have a sister, to call someone Pidge and be fussy over a sibling again. Pidge swore to never lose her brother ever again.)


End file.
